right now, at this defining moment in america. ♪ we gonna be all right >> with so much on the line, from abc news, my america, your america, our america. this is "turning point." tonight. >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa. the ft. hood soldier murdered on her own base. new details about the investigation. one family's demand for justice. >> my sister was a human too! she deserves respect. >> their fight for lasting change in the military, and what the secretary of the army has to say. >> will there ever be justice for vanessa guillen? >> now reporting, john quinones.

>> vanessa was special, like a lot of people tell me, like, i don't know what it was about her that just touches me. >> reporter: vanessa guillen was the light of her family. >> she's just a joyful person. she's very outgoing. >> we just had that >> reporter: one of six children, beloved by her siblings and her parents, originally from mexico, raising their children to pursue the american dream. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> i always looked up to her

since i was little, following in her steps. >> reporter: even from a young age, one thing was clear, vanessa's sense of duty to her country. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: as soon as she graduated from high school, vanessa enlisted in the u.s. army. >> in her first training, she didn't even want to come back. she was unhappy. even when she got home she was a new person. like her skin was full of glowing. [ speaking in foreign languageoo ft. hood in killeen, texas, one of the army's largest military installations. she worked as a small arms repair soldier, but soon after she arrived, her family said they noticed a change. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: she looks more sad she said. she was not happy at ft. hood. >> no. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> she would try to tell me that she didn't want to be at ft. hood. i remember this one time she said, "i don't like it here, and i hope one day you understand." on the 22nd, i find that she's not responding at all. no phone calls, they go to voice mail. so i thought, let me message her, maybe the message will go through, and nothing. >> there's a 4:00 p.m. accountability check. vanessa doesn't check in. and that's unusual. so the unit starts looking for her. >> they told me that her keys, her car, her military i.d.

license, credit, debit cards were there. she would never leave her stuff behind. >> reporter: after trying to reach vanessa for hours, her sister myra takes action, driving three hours from the family's home in houston to ft. hood. >> i thought maybe she had an accident, like we have to look for her. >> reporter: she says she arrives in the middle of the night and calls the staff sergeant. she says he tells her to come back in the morning. >> on the 23rd, the military police were contacted. >> reporter: major general donna martin is the head of cid, the u.s. army's criminal investigation division. >> they wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt. so when that search came back without any results, then that's when cid is notified. >> i texted my sister, like what's going on? she was like, we think vanessa

is missing. i was like, how could she go missing on a military base? that's ridiculous, go find her! and verify her. >> the meetings at cid were useless. there was in new information. we gave them literally every single thing they asked for. and for them not to give us an answer, the problem was inside. >> as a mother myself, there's not enough you could tell me. i would want to know everything. and we can't tell everything. we have to maintain the integrity of the investigation. >> reporter: gloria recalls a conversation she had with her daughter months before she went missing. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: her mother kept the conversation private at the time. but vanessa's sisters became the public face of the family. protesting outside of ft. hood. >> we started protesting every friday. >> what do we want! >> vanessa! >> reporter: inside, the army begins to piece together vanessa's last-known whereabouts. >> we know that vanessa reported to her workstation, which was in the motor pool. and then we know that she came to that arms rail, where she did leave behind her bank card, her i.d. card and the keys to her barracks room and her car. and then she went to the next arms room, the second arms room, and that is where we believe she came into contact with specialist robinson. we believe specialist robinson

was the last person to have seen her. >> reporter: specialist aaron robinson joined the a 2018 and was tdeployed to iraq. according to investigators, his girlfriend backs up his investigators speak to witnesses who say that on the day of vanessa's disappearance, they saw robinson coming out of his arms room, pulling a large, heavy case. >> so all of these leads lead us back to specialist robinson. we're interviewing other people in the unit as well, to find out was there a relationship between vanessa and specialist robinson that we didn't know about, and there was none.

>> reporter: soon, vanessa's disappearance begins to be reported on spanish-language media where vanessa's mother gloria speaks out about the alleged sexual harassment. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> family attorney told us she's uncovered at least two incidents of sexual harassment. the military says they've receive n received no credible information about those allegations. >> the story starts to go viral. the army launches an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations but also trying to handle the criticism regarding the handling of the investigation. >> reporter: vanessa's family keeps up their pressure on the leadership at ft. hood, demanding answers about the

investigation. >> they finally admitted that foul may wplay was involved. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> the story explodes into the news cycle. >> the army suspects foul play now. >> reporter: when we come back, vanessa's family continues their desperate search for their daughter, and we go to the pentagon to get answers. >> mr. secretary, what in the world is going on at ft. hood? i had saved up some money and then found the home of my dreams. but my home of my dreams needed some work sofi was the first lender that even offered a personal loan. i didn't even know that was an option. the personal loan let us renovate our single family house into a multi-unit home. and i get to live in this beautiful house with this beautiful kitchen and it's all thanks to sofi.

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>> reporter: it's been months since army specialist vanessa guillen went missing from ft. hood. her family says she was sexually harassed before her disappearance. as vanessa's family demands answers from the military, people all over the country rally in support. >> overnight, hundreds marching to houston's city hall, demanding justice for army soldier, vanessa guillen. >> reporter: "i am vanessa

guillen", becomes a movement online. >> this movement right now can make the positive change that we need. >> the i am vanessa guillen hash tag empowered military service members to come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and assault within the military. >> they so no soldier left behind, yet they're leaving my sister behind, because clearly after two monthsthsthsthsthsthss donni onning her after two months. >> reporter: her remains were un specialist's phone had pinged near that area the night she went missing. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: vanessa was just 20

years old. investigators bring cecily aguilar, specialist robinson's girlfriend, in for questioning. she allegedly offers up a confession of sorts that would later be made public in a criminal complaint against her. >> according to investigators, he tells her that he bludgeoned vanessa to death on base with a hammer in the arms room. >> this is a huge break for investigators. after months of searching for answers, they say they now have aaron robinson's girlfriend sitting in front of them, telling them what happened. and according to them, robinson somenvced her to help him get rid of the body. >> reporter: the pair allegedly dismembered vanessa's body and covered her remains with concrete. the details so disturbing, her family decides not to tell vanessa's mother exactly what happened. [ speaking in foreign language ]

>> reporter: on the day the remains were found, robinson was kept under watch on ft. hood by an unarmed escort, while a case against him was being built. investigators say robinson watched news reports on his cell phone. >> he's watching this on his cell phone. and so he flees. >> reporter: somehow, robinson got past his escort. >> the guard gives chase, but he gets in a vehicle and leaves ft. hood. >> reporter: robinson managed to obtain a gun. >> he pulls the gun out, and he ends his life. he dies by suicide. >> reporter: cecily aguilar is now in jail, being held without bond. she has pled not guilty to charges relating to helping dispose of vanessa's body. >> with robinson now dead, army officials say at a press conference the next day that while the criminal investigation into vanessa's murder continues,

they have no evidence that robinson ever sexually harassed her. >> we don't know what the motive was with regard to specialist robinson killing vanessa, we may never know. he may have taken that motive with him to his grave. >> reporter: vanessa's family wants to end sexual harassment in the military. their fight takes them all the way to the nation's capital where they meet with the commander in chief and push for legislation to be introduced in congress. the secretary of the army has created a panel of civilians, completely independent of the military to look at the command climate at ft. hood. ouidet times we have to have an . that's rare. >> reporter: with so many unanswered questions around the vanessa guillen case, we've come here to the pentagon to sit down with the secretary of the army to get some answers. >> nice to meet you.

>> reporter: the guillen family has said that the army has left them in the dark as to what happened the day their daughter vanished. >> we had a lot of contact with the family, about 40 different instances from april 22nd to july 1st. but when a family endures something as horrible as this, they want information immediately. we are as angry and as disappointed as they are. we've tried to get the answers as quickly as we can. >> reporter: on the day that vanessa's remains were found, specialist robinson is put under the watch of an unarmed escort. how does the prime suspect in vanessa's disappearance escape from a military base, somehow get ahold of a gun and then kill himself? >> that's part of what we've asked general murray to look at in his investigation, is to what actions were taken and how they followed procedures. i don't have enough information to truly understand the specifics of what happened at that moment. >> reporter: mr. secretary, it's been more than four months, and thousands of hours of

investigation. how can the army have no idea what robinson's motive was? why would he kill her in such a brutal way? >> not being able to question him, we have not been able to find these facts. >> reporter: is there anything you want to say to the guillen family? >> we're incredibly disappointed and heartbroken for the loss of our teammate. we let you down. but we'll do everything in our power to never allow things like this to happen again and to make enduring change for our institution. >> reporter: will there ever be justice for vanessa guillen? >> i don't know. >> just like we've seen george floyd murals, breonna taylor murals, we've seen that here as well, honoring vanessa, not only her leave as a soldier but her heritage. that just goes to show you how much vanessa's story has resonated with this country and with the world. >> a lot of people care about

her, and they didn't even know her. they honor and respect her by doing that. she deserves that and so much more. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen. >> i am vanessa guillen! >> i am vanessa guillen! [ speaking in foreign language ] does this sentra feel like a compromise to you?

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we can't leave you tonight without solemn remembrances this

9/11. an american flag unfurled at the pentagon before dawn. bells tolling in shanksville, pennsylvania. a moment of silence at new york's ground zero, where the twin towers once stood tall. social distancing at this year's tributes and memories that are never far away. ♪ and the home of the >> even 19 years later. ♪ brave >> and we will never forget. that's "nightline." goodnight, america. >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live," with guest host, samuel l. jackson. tonight, john david washington. and now, here's samuel l. jackson. welcome to "jimmy kimmel live!" i'm your guest host, samuel l. jackson.

[ applause ] in case you don't know, the l is for "leave me the -- alone." i have a special honor tonight: i am this show's very last guest host of the year. jimmy has spent all summer fishing, but it's time for him to come back. right now the disney swat team's pulling his ass out of a lake. funny thing about jimmy, for years, he has been trying to weasel his way into my vacations with magic johnson. so much so that he even photoshopped himself into our vacation photos and showed them on this very program. for real. i mean, this is the behavior of a sick, sad individual. there's a guy on this show named pat who wasted eight hours of his life putting these together. missed his daughter's high school graduation! okay, so jimmy begs me to take him on vacation, then he goes away for the whole summer. does he invite me?